Electrical terminal



Jan. 25, 1938. I DRAVlNG. 2,106,595

ELECTRICAL TERMINAL Filed Jan. 11, 1936 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 25, l93 8 UNITED STATES 2,106,595 Emc'rmoAL Tnnmmn Arthur M. Drawing, Philadelphia, to Hugh H. Eby, Inc., Philadelphia. Pa.

Pa. r

Application Julllll'y 11, 19st, Serial No. 5am I My invention relates to electrical terminal def vices and more particularly to terminal devices of the type adapted to receive a conductor clamping screw and to which an additional conductor or conductors may be soldered.

Heretofore, in the manufacture of terminal devices of the type to which may invention pertains, it has usually been customary to subject a cylindrical piece of metal to a drilling and/or 0 tapping operation to provide a clamping screwreceiving socket and to thereafter either mould the device into insulating material or to otherwise aflix it to a suitable base. The sequence of operations is, of course, immaterial, but the manufacture is expensive and, accordingly, it is an object of my present invention to provide an improved, inexpensive terminal device and a method of manufacture thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide a 20 method whereby a terminal device may be expeditiously and inexpensively manufactured from a strip of conducting material.

A still further object of my invention is to pro vide an electrical terminal device that may be 2 firmly anchored to a suitable base of insulating material with minimum labor.

The foregoing objects and other objects ancillary thereto I obtain, in a preferred embodiment b of my invention, by first so stamping a flat rectangular piece of metal as to provide it with complementary channel-shape portions having coined threads, and thereafter, through a bending operation, causing the said portions to be 35 brought into opposed relation to constitute an internally threaded cylinder adapted to receive a screw havingthreads of the same pitch.

In addition, during the stamping operation,-

portions of the metal are so removed as to leave 40 extensions which, after the afore-mentioned bending operation, when disposed in a suitably shaped opening, may be riveted over in order to anchor the terminal in place. v

The novel features that I consider characteris- 45 tic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together-with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be under- 0 stood from the following description of a preferred embodiment, when read in connection with the accompanying. drawing. in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of ,a piece of metal stamped and formed according to my invention,

55 before the bending operation has taken place.

Fig. 2 is an end view in elevation of the element shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view in elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig.4 is a top plan view of a modified form of 5 my invention. Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of my improved electrical terminal in its final form.

Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation of an electrical terminal constructed according to my invention, illustrating the manner in which it may be anchored into the base of insulating material.

Fig. 7 is a view, partly incross-section, of an electrical terminal device provided with a clamping screw the end of whicnhas be n upset to prevent withdrawal.

Fig. 8 is a view in end elevation of my improved terminal device illustrating the manner in which it may be anchored into an insulating base.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a still further modification of my invention, illustrating the manner in which a soldering lug may be provided by lengthening the bent portion that interconnects the complementary threaded channel portions thereof. 5

Fig. 10 is a view in perspective of a still further modification of my invention.

Fig. 11 is a view in perspective of a portion of an insulating strip provided with openings suitable for the reception of a. contact device constructed according to my invention.

In all of the figures of the drawing, like numerals refer to like parts of the device. I Referring now to Figs. 12-3 of the drawing,

in accordance with my invention a flat, elongated I piece of conducting material is subjected to a stamping operation which provides it with rounded end portions I and 3, interconnected by a plurality of channel portions 5 and l. in which .coined threads are formed. Either or both of the 40 end portions may be provided with an extension or soldering lug 9, if desired.

As will be noted from Fig. 1, the channel portions are spaced apart by an opening II, which extends transversely of the strip'an'd which falls short of the edges thereof in order to leave a plurality of connecting members l3 and I 5. Semi-circular openings I] and I 9 are interposed, respectively, between the end portions l and 3 and the adjacent channel portions 5 and I, which openings, after the bending operation hereinafter explained, provide a circular opening through which a clamping screw may be inserted. Also, during the stamping operation, each end portion may be provided with a struck-up ear 2|,

v abutments for the purpose of retaining a current- 1 tion, around the middle thereof, that the thread carrying conductor in place.

During the stamping operation the end portions l and-3 are respectively provided lugs or ears 23 extending toward the opening II. The purpose of these lugs will be hereinafter more clearly apparent. I

After the stamping operation is completed the formed blank is so subjected to a bending operaed channels are brought into opposed relation, as shown in Figs. 5 and 8, to constitute an internally threaded cylinder, and the end portions l and 3 are bent downwardly at right angles to the axis of the cylinder to form an abutment or collar. The dotted lines in Fig. 1 indicate the position of the end-portion bends.

After the bending operation just referred to, my improved terminal has an appearance exemplified by Fig. 5 of the drawing. When the terminal is inserted through an opening, in'a strip 24 of insulating material, having the configuration exemplified by the opening 25 in Fig. 11, the ears 23 may thereafter be pried apart to hold it firmly in place, and the soldering lug 9 may be passed downward through an additional opening 21 in the strip if desired. After the lugs 23 are pried apart or riveted over, the insulating strip is firmly gripped between them and the circular collar formed by the end pieces I and 3.

If desirable, the opening H shown in Fig. 1 may be replaced by a strip of material 29 as clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing.

Furthermore, it lies within the scope of my invention to make the interconnecting portions l3 and I5 shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, as long as desirable whereby a soldering lug 3| may be provided as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawing, instead of the soldering lug 9 as shown in Fig. 1. Naturally, both lugs may be retained if expedient.

It also lies within the scope of my invention to form a connecting device: as illustrated in Fig. 10, by means of sequential stamping and bending operations. Since the shape of the stamped blank before bending'is believed to bereasonably obvious from an inspection of the drawing, it has not been illustrated. It is to be noted, however,

that the device is provided with extensions 33 and 35, corresponding in function to the end portions I and 3 shown in Fig. 1 and also with a plurality of bent-up prongs, 31 and 39, for the purpose of clamping the device to an insulating base. Furthermore, the edges of the cylinder which are brought into opposition through the bending operation are provided with ofi-sets 4| and 13, for preventing the device from rotating after being mounted on an insulating strip.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have, through my invention, provided a terminal connector device that may be much more cheaply manufactured than similar devices heretofore known.

Though I have described-several embodiments of my invention, I am fully aware that many other modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains. My

invention, therefore, is notto be restricted, except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

- I claimas my invention:

1. The method of fabricating a terminal device which comprises subjecting a narrow strip of conducting material-to a stamping operation to provide it with a plurality of aligned channels having coined threads therein, the channels being spaced apart longitudinally of the strip, and with openings between the ends of the strip, respectively, and the adjacent ends of the channels, and thereafter'so bending the formed strip that the channel portions are brought into opposed relation to constitute a screw-receiving socket and the end portions are caused to assume a position at right angles to the cylinder to form a supporting collar.

2. A terminal device of the type described constituted by a strip of metal having a pair of complementary threaded depressions, each depression being separated from the end of the strip by an opening, said strip being folded midway thereof to place said depressions in complementary relation to constitute a screw-receiving socket and the end margins of said openings being bent at right angles to the socket to constitute a supporting collar. I

3. The invention set forth in claim 2, additionally characterized in that the end portions of the strip are each provided with at least one lug extending toward the fold, which lugs are adapted to be-bent into angular relation to the socket for the purpose of anchoring it into an insulating strip.

4,. The method of fabricating a terminal device which comprises subjecting a strip of conducting material to a stamping operation to impress therein a plurality of longitudinally aligned. threaded channels separated from each other lengthwise of the strip, to provide amopening between each end of the strip and the channelend adjacent thereto, to so remove edge portions of the strip paralleling the channels as to form a plurality of lugs extending from the ends toward the middle of the strip, the'lugs having free ends, and thereafter subjecting the formed strip to a bending operation to bring the channels into opposed relation to constitute an 'internally threaded socket and to cause the end margins of M. DRAvmG. 

